Odelay

Untitled

Odelay is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock artist Beck, originally released on June 18, 1996 by Geffen Records. After the mainstream success of "Loser", Odelay featured several hit singles, including "Where It's At", "Devils Haircut", and "The New Pollution". The album peaked at #16 on the Billboard 200 chart and eventually sold over 2 million copies in the United States. It was also Beck's first hit album in the United Kingdom, making #17; it has since gone platinum in the UK.

On January 29, 2008, Odelay was reissued as a two-disc package featuring a number of bonus tracks. As of July 2008, the album had sold 2.3 million copies in the United States. Since its release, the album has appeared in numerous publications' lists of the greatest records of the 1990s and of all time.

Background

Musical style

The sessions for what would become Odelay originally began as a subdued, acoustic affair. In 1994, Beck started to record tracks for his follow-up to Mellow Gold with Bong Load producers Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf. Hansen had recently experienced a number of personal tragedies (including the death of his grandfather, Al Hansen), and the tone of the songs as well as their production were considerably somber. Only a handful of tracks from these sessions have been released: "Ramshackle", "Feather in Your Cap", and "Brother". All three of these songs are acoustic, sparse, and melancholic, and have a haunting sound very different from the more upbeat, "party" style of Odelay. Beck would eventually return to this Downbeat style with his 1998 album, Mutations.

He would eventually abandon work with Rothrock and Schnapf, opting to work with the Dust Brothers instead. The Dust Brothers' production style was notably more upbeat and hip-hop-focused; their résumé included work with Beastie Boys and Tone Lōc.

Title and artwork

The title is a phonetic English rendering of the Mexican slang interjection "órale." The phrase "odelay" is repeated in the lyrics during the outro of the song "Lord Only Knows". However, according to Stephen Malkmus, the title is actually a play of words on Oh Delay, since the album took very long to record .

The album's unusual cover is a real photo of a Komondor, a rare Hungarian breed of dog with thick matted hair. The image was chosen at the last minute after Beck failed to decide on an album cover. The image was presented to him by his girlfriend and was chosen almost out of desperation. The typeface was chosen by a record company worker.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Pitchfork Media (1996)	(9.8/10)
Pitchfork Media	(8.5/10) Deluxe Edition
Allmusic
Slant Magazine
Robert Christgau	(A-)
RS Album Guide
Rolling Stone	Deluxe Edition
Piero Scaruffi

Odelay won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1997, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for "Where It's At'. It was ranked 16 in Spin's "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005". It was voted as the best album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll, and also in the NME's annual critics poll. In 1998, Q magazine readers voted Odelay the 51st greatest album of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 305 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Voters in Channel 4's 2005 "100 Greatest Albums" poll placed it at number 73. The music website Pitchfork Media ranked it at #19 on their top 100 albums of the 1990s.

Track listing

Original issue

All songs written by Beck, John King and Michael Simpson, except where noted. All tracks produced by Beck Hansen and The Dust Brothers, except where noted.

1. "Devils Haircut" – 3:14
2. "Hotwax" – 3:49
3. "Lord Only Knows" (Beck Hansen) – 4:14
4. "The New Pollution" – 3:39
5. "Derelict" – 4:12
6. "Novacane" – 4:37
7. "Jack-Ass" – 4:11
8. "Where It's At" – 5:30
9. "Minus" (Beck Hansen) – 2:32
   • Produced by Beck Hansen, Mario Caldato Jr. and Brian Paulson.
10. "Sissyneck" – 3:52
11. "Readymade" – 2:37
12. "High 5 (Rock the Catskills)" – 4:10
13. "Ramshackle" (Beck Hansen) – 7:29
    • Produced by Tom Rothrock and Tom Schnapf.
    • Includes a hidden track called "Computer Rock"
    • Some non-U.S. versions contain "Diskobox" and/or "Clock" as bonus tracks.

Deluxe Edition

On January 29, 2008, Odelay - Deluxe Edition was released. The two-disc set contains the original album, plus 19 b-sides, remixes and previously unreleased songs. The liner notes feature complete lyrics and artwork as well as an essay from Thurston Moore and the transcript of 15 high school students interviewed by Dave Eggers.

"Diskobox", which appeared on the original Japanese pressing of Odelay, was not included on the deluxe edition for unknown reasons. The Odelay sessions version of "Debra" (later re-recorded for Midnite Vultures) is also absent, despite initial rumors to the contrary.

Some of the bonus tracks on the Deluxe Edition (specifically "Deadweight" and "Clock") appear to be from lossy (e.g. MP3) sources. Some of the tracks included have been altered beyond simple remastering. No official explanation for these changes has been given. Some of these alterations are listed below:

First CD:

1. - "Hotwax" has a more double tracked vocal during the verses
2. - "The New Pollution" has the same synthesized beeps from the original version, but played at a different pitch
3. - "Sissyneck" has a slightly extended 'breakdown' part at around 2:00

Bonus CD:

1. - "Thunderpeel" is reduced to mono from the regular stereo version
2. - "Electric Music And The Summer People" is an alternate mix
3. - "Erase the Sun" runs at a faster speed (the original may be slowed down)
4. - "Trouble All My Days" is reduced to mono from the regular stereo version

Cover Art for Odelay - Deluxe Edition

Disc 1

1. "Devils Haircut" - 3:15
2. "Hotwax" - 3:49
3. "Lord Only Knows" - 4:15
4. "The New Pollution" - 3:39
5. "Derelict" - 4:13
6. "Novacane" - 4:37
7. "Jack-Ass" - 4:12
8. "Where It's At" - 5:30
9. "Minus" - 2:32
10. "Sissyneck" - 3:57
11. "Readymade" - 2:37
12. "High 5 (Rock the Catskills)" - 4:11
13. "Ramshackle" - 4:47
14. "Hidden Track (Computer Rock)" - 0:43
15. "Deadweight" - 6:12
16. "Inferno" (previously unreleased) - 7:03
17. "Gold Chains" (previously unreleased) - 4:59

Disc 2

1. "Where It's At" (U.N.K.L.E. remix) - 12:26
2. "Richard's Hairpiece" (remix by Aphex Twin) - 3:19
3. "American Wasteland" (remix by Mickey P.) - 2:42
4. "Clock" - 3:17
5. "Thunderpeel" - 2:40
   • Different version than the one on Stereopathetic Soulmanure.
6. "Electric Music and the Summer People" - 4:38
7. "Lemonade" - 2:21
8. "SA-5" - 1:53
9. "Feather in Your Cap" - 3:46
10. "Erase the Sun" - 2:56
    • Sped up from the originally released length of 3:16.
11. "000.000" - 5:25
12. "Brother" - 4:47
13. "Devil Got My Woman" - 4:34
14. "Trouble All My Days" - 2:25
15. "Strange Invitation" - 4:06
16. "Burro" - 3:13

Sampled music

"Devil's Haircut"

• "I Can Only Give You Everything" by Them (Re-played by Beck)
• "Out of Sight" by Them
• "Soul Drums" by Pretty Purdie.

"Hotwax"

• "Song for Aretha" by Pretty Purdie
• "Dookey Shoe" by Rasputin's Stash
• "Universal Rhythms" by Mandrill

"Lord Only Knows"

• "Lookout for Lucy" by Mike Millius
• "When It Comes" by Edgar Winter

"The New Pollution"

• "Venus" by Joe Thomas

"Derelict"

• "I Just Want to Celebrate" by Rare Earth.

"Novacane"

• "Get Up and Dance" by Freedom

"Jack-Ass"

• "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" by Them

"Where It's At"

• "Sex for Teens (Where It's At)" by Dr. Stanley Z. Adams
• "Needle to the Groove" by Mantronix
• "I Don't Care If U Disrespect Me (Just So You Love Me)" by The Frogs
• "Military Scratch - Scratch Mix" by Grand Wizard Theodore
• "Get Out of My Life, Woman" by Lee Dorsey

"Sissyneck"

• "The Moog and Me" by Dick Hyman
• "A Part of Me" by Country Funk
• "Life" by Sly & The Family Stone

"Readymade"

• "Desafinado" by Laurindo Almeida and The Bossa Nova All Stars

"High 5 (Rock the Catskills)"

• Symphony no. 8 "Unfinished" (first movement) by Franz Schubert
• "Mr. Cool" by Rasputin's Stash
• Part of the noise section of "Novacane" can be heard.
• "Inside-Looking Out" by Grand Funk Railroad

Personnel

• Beck – organ, acoustic guitar, bass, harmonica, percussion, celeste, drums, electric guitar, keyboards, electric piano, vocals, clavinet, slide guitar, art direction, design, mixing, producer
• Mike Boito – organ, trumpet
• Mario Caldato, Jr. – producer, mixing
• Charlie Haden – bass
• Greg Leisz – pedal steel
• Bob Ludwig – mastering, photography
• Mike Millius – screams
• Brian Paulson – producer, mixing
• Tom Rothrock – producer, mixing
• Rob Schnapf – producer, mixing
• Joey Waronker – percussion, drums
• Dust Brothers – producer, mixing
• Robert Fisher – art direction, design
• Nitin Vadukul – photography
• Zarim Osborn – artwork, collage
• Al Hansen – artwork, collage
• Shauna O'Brien – coordination, production coordination
• Manuel Ocampo – artwork, paintings, collage
• David Brown – saxophone
• Ross Harris (The Enchanting Wizard of Rhythm)
• David Campbell - arranger
• Brian Hewitt (DJ Smash) - turntables

External links

• Odelay at MusicBrainz